Associate Professor Robyn Bushell

Robyn_Bushell

Biography

Dr Bushell teaches, researches and supervises PhD students in tourism planning, community development, quality of life and the conservation of cultural and natural heritage. Her work focuses on the values underpinning quality of life, wellness and sustainable development. She works closely with a range of national and international bodies related to heritage conservation including UNESCO World Heritage Centre, IUCN, UN-World Tourism Organisation, establishing policies and planning frameworks for development strategies involving tourism (in developed and developing countries) to be integrated with strategies to deliver broad benefits; examining the relationship between visitation to protected areas and world heritage sites; the role of interpretation in fostering awareness of conservation values and the values of protected places to people; and visitor impact management. Robyn served as the Australian Academic Co-ordinator for a DEST – EU funded pilot project (2005 -2007) Sharing Our Heritages: Master Classes in Natural & Cultural Heritage Management with 4 Australian, 4 European Universities, UNESCO-WHC & Parks Australia. She is Co-Chair of the Task Force on Tourism and Protected Areas, World Commission on Protected Areas; NSW Vice Chancellors’ representative member of the NSW Environmental Education Council; Board member Booderee National Park ; and member Blue Mountains National Park Regional Advisory Committee. 

Dr Bushell's areas of expertise include: Natural and cultural heritage tourism planning; community development

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Honours and Awards

2004: UWS Nomination for the National Teaching Excellence Awards

2002: UWS Vice Chancellor's Excellence Award in Teaching

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Qualifications

B App Sc, Masters (Research), PhD (Urban & Regional Planning) University of Sydney

Grants and Current Projects

  • Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Grant (2005 - 2007) Backpacker Cultures, Residential Communities, and the Construction of Tourist Spaces and Landscapes: a regional study of changing community dynamics in Sydney, with Prof Kay Anderson and Dr Fiona Allon (UWS-CCR) and 6 Sydney Councils.
  • Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Grant (2003 - 2005) Improving the Contribution of Protected Areas to the Quality of Life in Rural and Regional Communities, with Dr Russell Staiff (UWS-CCR) Nicholas Conner(NSW NPWS) and Matthew Wolnicki (PhD scholar).
  • AUS Industry (2007 -2008) MACROC, Macarthur Business Enterprises, Macarthur Centre for Sustainable Living, UWS Synergy: sustainable business practices for small medium businesses, with Bruce Simmons (CRC –IF) and Luciano Mesiti (UWS).
  • Charles Darwin Foundation, Galapagos Islands National Park Service, Lindblad Expeditions (2007) IUCN representative assisting in the design of a training initiative to create environmentally and socially responsible business practices to reduce the burden of tourism on the World Heritage values and work collaboratively to remove the Galapagos from the UNESCO World Heritage ‘In Danger’ list.
  • Parramatta City Council (2007) Partnership Grant. Parramatta Stories: A Community Values Approach to Heritage Planning, with Dr Russell Staiff (UWS-CCR).
  • NSW Environmental Trust (2005 -2008) Environmental Management Training for Tourism Businesses, with Bruce Simmons (CRC –IF) and Dr Jenny Scott (UWS & Kuringai Counci).
  • NSW Camping & Caravan Industry Association (2003 - 2007) Developing a System of Environmental Management within the Camping & Caravan Industry, with Bruce Simmons (CRC-IF) & Dr Jenny Scott (UWS & Kuringai Council).
  • Manly Council (2005) Assessment of the Triple Bottom Line of Tourism Impacts in Manly, with Bruce Simmons (CRC-IF), Dr Jenny Scott and Ian Knowd.
  • NSW National Parks & Wildlife Services (2003) Interpretation Strategies at Minnamurra Rainforest Centre, with Dr Russell Staiff.
  • World Health Organisation (2000 - 2002) Development of Guidelines for Healthy Tourism in The Pacific Region, with Dr Russell Staiff & Dr Brent Powis (UWS-WHO CC).

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Selected Publications

Books

Bushell, R. & Sheldon, P. (eds) 2009, Wellness and Tourism: Mind, Body, Spirit, Place, New York: Cognizant Communication Books.

Bushell, R. & Eagles, P. A. (eds) 2007, Benefits Beyond Boundaries: Tourism & Protected Areas. The Vth World Parks Congress, Oxfordshire, UK and Cambridge, MA: CABI Press, pp 1-11.

Book Chapters

Simmons, B., Bushell, R. & Scott, J. 2010, ‘Fostering Responsible Tourism Business Practices Through Collaborative Capacity-Building’, in, Sarkis, J., Cordeiro, J. J. & Vasquez Brust, D. (eds), Facilitating Sustainable Innovation through Collaboration, Berlin: Springer-Verlag, pp 185-201.

Bushell, R. & Trau, A. 2008, ‘Tourism and Indigenous Peoples’, in, McCool, S. & Moisey, R. N. (eds), Tourism, Recreation and Sustainability: Linking Culture and the Environment, 2nd ed., Oxfordshire, UK & Cambridge, MA, USA: Cabi Publishing, pp 260-282.

Sheldon, P. & Bushell, R. 2008, ‘Introduction to Wellness and Tourism’, in, Bushell, R. & Sheldon, P. (eds), Wellness and Tourism: Mind, Body, Spirit, Place, New York: Cognizant Communication Books.

Bushell, R. 2008, ‘Tourism, Quality of Life and Wellness’, in, Bushell, R. & Sheldon, P. (eds), Wellness and Tourism: Mind, Body, Spirit, Place, New York: Cognizant Communication Books.

Bushell, R. & Sheldon, P. 2008, ‘Wellness Tourism and the Future’, in, Bushell, R. & Sheldon, P. (eds), Wellness and Tourism: Mind, Body, Spirit, Place, New York: Cognizant Communication Books.

Bushell, R., Staiff, R. & Eagles, P. 2007, ‘Tourism and Protected Areas: Benefits Beyond Boundaries’, in, Bushell, R. & Eagles, P. A. (eds), Benefits Beyond Boundaries: Tourism & Protected Areas. The Vth World Parks Congress, Oxfordshire, UK & Cambridge, MA: CABI Press, pp 1-11.

Bushell, R. & McCool, S. 2007, ‘Tourism as a Tool for Conservation and Support of Protected Areas: Setting the Agenda’, in, Bushell, R. & Eagles, P. A. (eds), Benefits Beyond Boundaries: Tourism & Protected Areas. The Vth World Parks Congress, Oxfordshire, UK & Cambridge, MA: CABI Press, pp 12-26.

Figgis, P. & Bushell, R. 2007, ‘Tourism as a Tool for Community-based Conservation and Development’, in, Bushell, R. & Eagles, P. A. (eds), Benefits Beyond Boundaries: Tourism & Protected Areas. The Vth World Parks Congress, Oxfordshire, UK & Cambridge, MA: CABI Press, pp 101-114.

McCool, S., Eagles, P., Bushell, R. & McNeely, J. 2007, ‘Tourism, Protected Areas and the World Parks Congress: Fundamental Lessons, New Horizons and Promising Directions’, in, Bushell, R. & Eagles, P. A. (eds), Benefits Beyond Boundaries: Tourism & Protected Areas. The Vth World Parks Congress, Oxfordshire, UK & Cambridge, MA: CABI Press, pp 329-346.

Simmons, B., Scott, J., Bushell, R., Sinha, C., Desailly, M. & Baillie, B. 2006, ‘Environmental Management Partnerships: A research Case Study from the Tourism Industry’, in, Welford, R., Hills, P. & Young, W. (eds), Partnerships for Sustainable Development Perspectives from the Asia-Pacific Region, Hong Kong: The Centre for Urban Planning and Environmental Management, The University of Hong Kong, pp 74-93.

Bushell, R. 2005, ‘Protected Areas and Tourism’, in, McNeely, J. A. (ed.), Friends for Life: New Partnerships in Support of Protected Areas, Gland, Switzerland: IUCN, pp 141-154.

Staiff, R. & Bushell, R. 2003, ‘Travel Knowledgably: the Question of Content in Heritage Interpretation’, in, Black, R. & Weiler, B. (eds), Interpreting the Land Down Under: Australian Heritage Interpretation and Tour Guiding, Golden, Colorado: Fulcrum Publishing, pp 92-109.

Bushell, R. 2003, ‘Balancing Conservation and Visitation’, in, Buckley, R., Pickering, C. & Weaver, D. (eds), Nature-based Tourism, Environment and Land Management, Oxfordshire, UK & Cambridge, MA: CABI Press, pp 197-208.

Bushell, R. 2000, ‘Tourism & Health’, in, Jafari, J. (ed.) Encyclopaedia of Tourism, London: Routledge, pp 272-4; 392; 473-4; 519-20.

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Journal Articles

Allon, F., Anderson, K. & Bushell, R. 2008, ‘Mutant Mobilities: Backpacker Tourism in Global Sydney’, Mobilities, 3(1): 73-94.

Bushell, R. & Griffin, T. 2007, ‘Monitoring Visitor Experiences in Protected Areas’, PARKS, 16(2): 25-33.

Staiff, R. & Bushell, R. 2004, ‘Tourism & Protected Areas: Benefits Beyond Boundaries’, Annals of Tourism Research, 31(3): 723-726.

Bushell, R., Desailly, M., Simmons, B., Scott, J., Baillie, B. & Sinha, C. 2004, ‘Environmentally and Socially Responsible Practices in the Camping and Caravan Industry: A Case Study from Australia’, Tourism & Recreation Research, 29(3): 39-50.

Staiff, R. & Bushell, R. 2004, ‘Healthy Tourism in a Fijian Context: a WHO Initiative for Island Tourism’, Journal of Pacific Studies, 26(1-2): 105-131.

Staiff, R. & Bushell, R. 2003, ‘Heritage Interpretation and Cross Cultural Translation in an Age of Global Travel’, Journal of Park and Recreation Administration (Special Places Issue), 21(4): 104-122.

Staiff, R., Bushell, R. & Kennedy, P. 2002, ‘Interpretation in National Parks: Some Critical Questions’, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 10(2): 97-113.

Sinha, C. & Bushell, R. 2002, ‘The Linkage between Biodiversity and Tourism: a study of ecotourism in a coastal village in Fiji’, Pacific Tourism Review, 6(1): 35-50.

Bushell, R., Staiff, R. & Conner, N. 2002, ‘The Role of Nature-Based Tourism in the Contribution of Protected Areas to Quality of Life in Rural and Regional Communities in Australia’, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 9(1): 24-36.

Bushell, R. 2001, ‘Health and Tourism: A Conceptual Shift’, Tourism Recreation Research, 26(3): 79-84.

Bushell, R., Prosser, G., Faulkner, B. & Jafari, J. 2001, ‘The Development of Tourism Research in Australia’, Journal of Travel Research, 39(3): 323-327.

Conference Proceedings

Christie, J., Bushell, R. & Wen, J. 2008, ‘Critiquing the Tourism Impact Model: Case Studies From Popular Sydney Beach Side Destination’, The Global Events Congress III and China Event Education Conference III, pp 310-322.

Reports

Bushell, R., Scott, J., Knowd, I. & Simmons, B. 2005, Sustainable Coastal Tourism for Manly Report to Manly Council, Hawkesbury: Tourism for Healthy Futures, UWS.

Bushell, R., Staiff, R. & Powis, B. 2001, Development of a Conceptual Framework for Healthy Tourism in the Pacific Region, Manilla: Western Pacific Regional Office of the World Health Organisation, and, Sydney: The UWS WHO Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health.

Bushell, R. 1999, ‘Development of Approaches and Practice for Sustainable Use of Biological Resources: Tourism’, Agenda paper 4.8, Fourth Meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice, Montreal: The World Conservation Union.

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Engagement

  • NSW Environmental Education Council Member
  • New Zealand Regional, and Steering Committee of the World Commission for Protected Areas (WCPA) of the World Conservation Union
  • IUCN - Co-Chair International Task Force on Tourism, WCPA
  • IUCN - UNESCO, IUCN, ICOMOS Steering Committee on examining the relationship between World Heritage visitation and conservation objectives
  • Member, International Expert Advisory Group on Indicators of Sustainable Tourism, World Tourism Organisation
  • International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Convenor of the Tourism Component of the 2003 5th World Parks Congress; 2005 3rd World Conservation Congress and the 2008 4th World Conservation Congress, Barcelona in addition to the ongoing work of the World Commission for Protected Areas and the Tourism Task Force
  • Federal Ministerial Appointment, Booderee National Park Board of Management, co-managed with the Wreck Bay Indigenous community
  • State Ministerial Appointment NSW NPWS Regional Advisory Council for Blue Mountains National Park - Member, Penrith Lakes Environmental Education Committee
  • UWS Deputy Board Member of the Blue Mountains World Heritage Institute
  • Member, The Great River Walk Inc, Board of Management - Past Member, Reference Group for the Lake Eyre Basin Heritage Tourism Project, for the Lake Eyre Basin Coordinating Group, Australian Heritage Commission

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